Miami Beach’s Art Basel is a lot of fun this year, and Surrealist Icon Leonor Fini, an artist whose fame is rising faster than ever, is right in the middle of it all. Fini was a leader in the Surrealist movement and was born in Argentina. However, her male friends often made her look less important. But now things are different. People and the art market are beginning to recognize her worth that she has long had.
Surrealist Icon Leonor Fini: Present That Stands Out
Together with Galerie Minsky in Paris and the Weinstein Gallery in San Francisco, Art Basel this year is focusing on Leonor Fini. That wonderful connection began twenty years ago, when Rowland Weinstein, who started the Weinstein Gallery, and Arlette Souhami of Galerie Minsky met. It has now reached an amazing end. Fini’s Art Basel booth is a review of her large body of work, from her well-known photographs of Parisian life to her intricate works on paper, masks, and cutting-edge Surrealist furniture. From $12,000 to $3.5 million, the range of prices beats Fini’s previous sales records and shows how much the art market has changed its mind about her work.
Surrealist Icon Leonor Fini: A market that’s getting bigger
Gallery Minsky’s owner, Victor Picou, talks about why Fini’s work is getting more and more famous. He says the immense interest is due to the stunning sale of her 1938 self-portrait at Sotheby’s New York in 2021, which fetched an amazing $2.3 million. One of her pieces has never sold for seven figures before, and this is the most money she has ever made from a sale. People want to buy more than just Fini’s famous Surrealist paintings. Her works on paper are also becoming well-known. Being close to the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist movement, Fini’s art is becoming more and more well-known. Paris’s Centre Pompidou is planning a big show to mark the occasion.
Surrealist Icon Leonor Fini: What a visionary did that made a fuss
The art world will never be the same after Leonor Fini died. She was born in Buenos Aires and lived in Paris for more than 60 years. Not wanting to be called a “surrealist,” she turned down an official invitation to join the movement. However, she was close with famous artists such as Salvador Dalí, Max Ernst, and Leonora Carrington. When it came to how she presented men and women, Fini’s art went against what people thought was right. It broke the rules of what men and women should do. The sexuality in her work shocked people of her time.
The book Ahead of Her Time by Victor Picou talks about Fini’s influence. He says that in both her work and her life, she was forward-thinking and free. “She was a free person in all different ways—in her paintings, in her lifestyle, in everything,” he adds. Fini painted beautiful pictures, but her art also showed that she was ahead of her time and could see the future. People are now recognizing this creative quality that was ahead of its time.
Thinking about what will happen next
Throughout her life, Leonor Fini got into a lot of trouble. However, her name is now growing, and she is becoming better known. It’s getting easier to find her work as the 100th anniversary of the Surrealist movement approaches. People in charge of the show at the Centre Pompidou are already very interested in one of her works that is at Art Basel right now. Fini’s work will also be shown in Milan next year, which will solidify her image as a visionary artist who is finally getting the credit she has long been lacking. People used to not care much about Leonor Fini’s art, but now it’s getting more and more famous in the modern art world.